


Here's To You, Kid

by NorthernGhost



Series: The NoGho DLC Files [6]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/F, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, Found Family, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26625259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernGhost/pseuds/NorthernGhost
Summary: The evening before their wedding, soon-to-be-weds Anukai, Aloy's adoptive daughter, and Ikrie indulge Aloy and Talanah in their request to take them on a night out to celebrate, and perhaps receive some sage advice from the older couple.
Relationships: Aloy & Anukai (OC), Aloy/Talanah Khane Padish, Anukai (OC)/Ikrie, Ikrie & Talanah Khane Padish
Series: The NoGho DLC Files [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668388
Comments: 11
Kudos: 5





	Here's To You, Kid

**Author's Note:**

> So I guess you could call this a "bonus" or "deleted" scene from my fic [The Cusp](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24855160/chapters/60127873), as it's technically set during a timeskip in the final chapter of that fic.
> 
> BUT...
> 
> You don't necessarily have to know the full context of that to just have some good ole' fashioned feels. Hopefully. All you need to know: Anukai is a second generation Elisabet Sobeck clone, Ikrie is her game canon age, and Aloy and Talanah are 25-ish years older than the game canon. Following? Good.
> 
> If you have read that fic, then hey, hopefully it adds that little _something_ for ya.
> 
> Hope ya enjoy.

Even before they had arrived at the Carja restaurant that seemed like a thinly veiled excuse for Meridian residents to get drunk off of fancy wine, Ikrie had begun to feel that it had been a bad idea to tell the others of the idea of anything resembling a formal “wedding”, but as Talanah had insisted so strongly upon discovering the truth, she had been reluctant to go back on her word. Still, the dark-haired former Banuk followed Talanah into the establishment to a table on what appeared to be an open-air balcony overlooking the edge of the mesa.  


“You’re not afraid of heights, right?” the raven-haired Carja asked as she came to a stop beside the table.  


Ikrie shook her head, prompting Talanah to sigh in relief and turn toward the young man that had led them to their seats.  


“The usual?” he asked, smirking.  


“Not quite,” the Carja replied, sparing a glance toward Ikrie. “Two of your finest red.”  


The man raised his eyebrows in response, glancing between them before Talanah cleared her throat.  


“It’s my treat to her before her wedding.”  


Ikrie cringed slightly at the force the Carja woman had placed on the last word, averting her gaze as she sunk into her seat at the small table, not meeting either of the others eyes. A moment later, the man disappeared, leaving the raven-haired Carja to take a seat with a sigh, rolling her left shoulder for a moment before leaning forward onto the table.  


“I’m sorry, Ikrie,” she began, prompting the younger woman to look up at her. “I—you know me…”  


“I do…” Ikrie sighed.  


“I’m… I’m excited for you,” Talanah continued. “I just…”  


“It’s fine,” the dark-haired woman replied, shrugging. “Should probably get used to it, if Anukai and I are mates, right?”  


The Carja woman stared back at her with a conflicted expression for a moment before sighing and leaning back in her seat.  


“That was a word I spent a long time coming to terms with,” she said.  


Ikrie raised one eyebrow in response, folding her arms on the table before her.  


“For Carja—particularly those supposed to be of noble birth,” Talanah continued, her tone somewhat intense while somehow remaining wistful, as well, “it was always supposed to be a husband. It wasn’t— _mates_ were for the savages to the east and—”  


The raven-haired woman paused, drawing a deep breath before laughing softly.  


“Well… I learned a lot when I pledged my heart to one of them, didn’t I?”  


Ikrie offered a small smile in return, nodding slightly as she turned her gaze to stare down at her arms, drumming her fingers against her forearm, just below her elbow.  


“They’re just words, anyway,” Talanah sighed, but the dark-haired woman didn’t look up at her. “Just… things other people want to call the person you love, right?”  


Ikrie shrugged.  


“I… I think I like… being able to call Anukai my… my mate,” she said softly.  


The Carja woman remained silent for several long moments before she sighed heavily, again. Ikrie noted the signs of motion from her before Talanah’s hand slid across the table, gently coming to rest atop her folded arms.  


“I’m sorry, Ikrie,” she said softly. “I… dammit, I really started to ruin this night, already, huh?”  


The dark-haired girl inhaled slowly, unfurling her arms to place one hand over the Carja’s.  


“Not ruined,” she said softly, finally lifting her gaze to meet Talanah’s, once again. “Just… figuring things out.”  


The raven-haired Carja stared back at her for several long moments before sighing heavily. She was blocked from responding, however, when the man from earlier returned with two glasses full of a dark red liquid, placing them at the edge of the table.  


“As requested, two glasses of our finest red for the councilwoman and her—”  


The man trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words as a brief glimpse of panic crossed his expression.  


“Her adoptive daughter,” Talanah suddenly finished.  


The man seemed to startle for a moment before nodding and repeating the phrase, glancing between the two of them for a moment or two before clearing his throat.  


“Will you two be desiring any food, as well?”  


The Carja agreed, prompting the man to scurry off, stating that he would be back with “tonight’s options” while leaving the two women in silence. Finally, Ikrie turned back to Talanah, raising one eyebrow.  


“I’m sorry, again,” the Carja sighed.  


“It’s okay,” Ikrie replied, “if my _adoptive mother_ is paying.”  


Talanah’s face cracked into a smirk as she laughed dryly.  


“My treat.”  


With that, the raven-haired Carja lifted her glass from the table, holding it toward Ikrie. The dark-haired woman raised hers in response, smirking, as well.  


“To your wedding,” Talanah began. “May it be the start of a path you share with Anukai for decades to come.”  


Ikrie paused for a moment before her smirk turned into a genuine smile and she nodded. With that, the two of them sipped at their drinks, the dark-haired woman’s eyes widening slightly at the flavor of the dark liquid as she lowered the glass.  


“Finest does mean strongest, usually,” Talanah quipped.  


“You don’t say…”  


The Carja laughed as Ikrie swirled her glass for a moment before taking another sip. As a shiver ran down her spine, she placed the vessel on the table with a sigh.  


“Thank you, though,” the dark-haired woman said.  


Talanah paused for a moment before grinning, sipping at her drink, once again.  


“I mean it, truly,” she said, quietly, as she also replaced her glass on the table. “I… I see a lot of myself and Aloy in you two, and…”  


The Carja trailed off as Ikrie nodded slowly.  


“I understand,” she replied, prompting the Carja to nod, blocking herself from continuing with another sip of her drink.  


A moment later, the man from before returned and provided the food options for the night, to which Talanah responded for the both of them, yet again. Just before the man turned to leave, the raven-haired Carja stopped him, glancing toward Ikrie with one eyebrow raised.  


“That… all is okay with you, right?”  


The former Banuk hesitated for a moment before smiling softly and nodding.  


“I trust you.”

  


  


Anukai shook her head and laughed softly as Aloy came to a stop before an unmarked door on a side street in Meridian, prompting the older redhead to pause, fist raised to knock.  


“Everything okay?” she asked.  


“Yeah, just… could’ve guessed,” the younger redhead quipped.  


Confusion registered on Aloy’s face for a moment as Anukai laughed, again.  


“You tell me you have a special night planned, and we show up at the spot where you and Talanah took us the first time we came here,” she said.  


“Oh… I’m… I’m sorry, we… we can go somewhere else…” Aloy stammered, her hand lowering from the door.  


“No, no, it’s… I like it,” the younger redhead interjected. “It… feels fitting.”  


The older redhead still looked conflicted for several moments before Anukai rolled her eyes and stepped forward, knocking loudly on the door for her. Aloy’s lips cracked into a grin as the doorway swung open partially, revealing a young woman in a dark red dress.  


“Councilwoman,” the woman said, a smirk tugging at her features.  


“Room for two?” Aloy replied.  


“Always.”  


The woman stepped aside, allowing the two redheads to enter before pushing the door closed behind them, leaving them in the hazy darkness of the hideaway immediately.  


“A chatty Glinthawk told me you might be stopping by,” the woman said, gesturing to the far side of the room, “so I made sure your favorite spot was open.”  


Aloy and the woman exchanged laughter before the older redhead slipped a small handful of shards into her palm. With a glance and a nod toward Anukai, the redheads made their way through the dimly-lit room until they reached the far corner, just to the right of the main bar, but with enough distance that they had enough privacy to talk at a volume lower than a shout.  


Anukai fell onto one of the plush benches with a sigh, leaning back into the seat cushion and groaning softly.  


“Hard day?”  


“Every day is a hard day,” Anukai mumbled, arching her back for a moment before sighing and settling into her seat normally.  


“Don’t give me that shit at your age,” Aloy quipped, rolling her eyes.  


The younger redhead smirked, but remained silent as one of the barmaids appeared on the opposite side of the low table before them, two drinks already in hand. Anukai eyed them with raised eyebrows as the blonde woman smirked.  


“I remember the usual for you two,” she said.  


“Do we come here that often?” Anukai said, glancing at Aloy with a smirk.  


“Not many red-hairs come through,” the barmaid shrugged. “Call it a perk.”  


Aloy laughed, nodding as she reached for her shards, but the blonde woman shook her head.  


“I’ve heard rumors of tonight,” she said. “This round’s on me.”  


The older redhead raised her eyebrows as Anukai felt her cheeks growing hot as the barmaid glanced over at her, smirking.  


“Congrats, girl.”  


The younger redhead muttered a thanks before the barmaid slipped behind the bar, once again, leaving Anukai to quickly grab for her glass and take a sip of the drink. The liquor was strong, with an initial taste of what seemed to be smoke, followed by a heavy, burning sensation that settled in her chest. With a sigh, she lowered the glass to her knee, grinning.  


“Are we really that predictable?” she asked, glancing toward Aloy.  


The older redhead shrugged, taking a sip of her own drink.  


“We have a—certain taste,” she replied, smirking.  


Anukai rolled her eyes but took another sip of her drink. As she did, the older redhead made a sound as if prompting her to stop, after which the younger redhead froze, her eyebrows raised in concern.  


“I forgot, dammit,” Aloy sighed. “I was going to give a whole toast and everything.”  


The younger redhead swallowed her sip before laughing.  


“You still can.”  


“Yeah, but… it’s not as special… whatever,” the older redhead sighed.  


“Say it.”  


Aloy shot her a look before sighing, sliding forward in her seat and holding her glass toward the younger redhead, prompting Anukai to sit forward as well, holding her glass a few inches away from hers.  


“To you and Ikrie,” Aloy began, “may your song echo from the tallest of mountains, may your bond be of iron forged in the deepest flames, and may it last as long as the sun’s rays fall upon the Earth.”  


The younger redhead paused for a moment before a broad smile spread across her face, bringing with it an intense heat that rivalled any sunburn she had received. A moment later, their glasses clinked together and each of the redheads took a sip of their drinks. As they lowered them, Anukai leaned forward, placing her glass slowly on the low table.  


“Thank you,” she said, still keeping her face lowered from Aloy.  


“You have no idea how long I spent trying to perfect that.”  


They both laughed, but while Aloy downed more of her drink, Anukai simply turned the glass in her fingers slowly. After another moment or two, she sensed that the older redhead had slid forward before she saw her hands lower the glass to the table, as well, out of the corner of her eye.  


“Everything okay?” Aloy asked softly. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you…”  


“Yeah… yeah, it’s—I’m not embarrassed,” Anukai said quickly, finally glancing up at her. “I… just a little overwhelmed.”  


The older redhead remained silent, but raised her eyebrows, prompting Anukai to sigh.  


“I… this whole situation is… really beginning to settle over me, I think.”  


Aloy’s face contorted in concern as she leaned forward.  


“The situation being… the wedding?”  


“Yes, but…” Anukai sighed, tilting her head back and forth for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh, running her hands over her face. “I love Ikrie. That’s not my concern. I am… I am more than ready to give everything I have of myself to her. I… I guess…”  


Aloy remained silent as the younger redhead’s jaw worked tensely for several moments before she took a deep breath, keeping her gaze focused on the half-full glass before her.  


“I… never thought about… how it would feel… for… others to… care.”  


The older redhead remained silent for a moment or two before letting out a soft “oh”, her grip visibly adjusting around her glass out of the corner of Anukai’s eye. After another several long moments, Aloy’s hand slowly reached across the table, hovering a few inches away from the younger redhead’s wrist before gently laying atop it, prompting her to glance up at the older redhead.  


“I meant what I said,” Aloy explained softly. “It… it wasn’t just some… bravado, flowery language—”  


“I know, I—”  


The younger redhead fell silent under Aloy’s stern look, leaving her room to continue.  


“I want you to be happy,” she finally said, “both of you. I… I know—or think I know—what she means to you, because… I look at you and see how I felt about Talanah, back then.”  


Anukai’s eyebrows raised as Aloy’s hand rubbed at her right wrist gently, her thumb pressing at the exposed inside with a reassuring pressure.  


“You want to give her everything you can,” the older redhead continued, “because you feel you can’t repay her.”  


The younger redhead shifted uncomfortably, but the motion only prompted Aloy’s grip to firm.  


“The truth is you both will be locked into that forever,” she said. “Each of you has something to give that the other doesn’t, and it will always leave you feeling like you owe her for it. Don’t look at that as a bad thing. Don’t feel guilty. She is giving that to you. Take it. Embrace it. When you feel you can give something to her, though, give it. All of it.”  


Anukai remained frozen for a moment or two, her gaze locked on Aloy’s, before the older redhead gently shook her wrist.  


“You understand?”  


The younger redhead swallowed heavily before nodding.  


“That’s not meant to be a threat,” Aloy continued, “or a warning, just… advice.”  


Anukai offered a small, sheepish smile before taking another sip of her drink, although the older redhead’s hand remained gripping her wrist.  


“I believe in you, kiddo.”  


The younger redhead paused for a moment, her glass halfway back to the table, as she stare back at the older redhead, but nothing on her face seemed to clearly betray what Anukai was searching for, and she ultimately swallowed forcefully, once again, nodding. A moment later, the older redhead had released her from her grip, taking hold of her glass and downing a significant portion of it. The younger redhead raised her eyebrows for a moment before following with a similar gesture, finishing her drink, entirely.  


“Dear lord, I wasn’t prepared for a high-level Talanah kind of night…”  


Anukai laughed loudly, placing her glass on the table and leaning back in her seat.  


“It’s the night before my wedding,” she countered. “I want to have a little fun.”  


“Okay, but here’s another lesson,” the older redhead shot back, pointing a stern finger toward her. “Do not be hungover at your wedding.”  


“I thought it was in the Sobeck genes to never get hangovers?”  


The older redhead grumbled something about “maybe the younger Sobecks” before downing the rest of her own drink and signaling to one of the barmaids. Another round of drinks appeared before them a moment later, and the two continued, their conversation shifting to much lighter topics.  


Several rounds later, and their speech finally began to slur, but Anukai found herself somewhat impressed with how well Aloy seemed to be matching her in regard to inebriation and energy. After the older redhead finished her fourth or fifth drink, she brought the glass down with a little more force than intended, but the vessel didn’t crack or shatter.  


“So,” she said, smirking as she attempted to focus on Anukai, “I have to ask…”  


Aloy raised an unfocused, wavering finger before her, which the younger redhead noted seemed to sway a good several inches to either side of her face on each pass.  


“Which one of you asked first?”  


Anukai quickly felt her face grow hot as she stared down at the table, prompting Aloy to laugh loudly.  


“I knew it.”  


“Oh? Did you?” the younger redhead shot back.  


“Anukai, kid, listen… I love you like a—like family,” Aloy began, clearing her throat, “but I can see the kind of spirit Ikrie has.”  


The younger redhead rolled her eyes, even as the room mildly spun about her, prompting her older companion to laugh.  


“S’not a bad thing,” Aloy slurred. “Hell, Talanah’s always been the one to initiate all kinds of—”  


“Okay, okay,” Anukai interjected, waving her hands before her, “I get it.”  


The older redhead smirked, but turned toward the approaching barmaid and ordering another round, this time making a note to make it “the top shelf”. The blonde woman glanced at their empty glasses before smirking.  


“Hasn’t been the bottom, so far,” she said, “but I think I know what you have in mind.”  


Aloy pointed at her as she winked, also clucking her tongue against the back of her teeth for good measure, prompting the barmaid to laugh, but turn on her heel and make her way back to the bar. A few moments later, she returned with two glasses of an even darker liquor than before, prompting Anukai to raise her eyebrows as she took the offered drink. When she sniffed it, she blinked rapidly, holding the glass away from her.  


“That’s… strong,” she managed.  


“That’s why it’s special,” Aloy shot back, grinning.  


They both carefully clinked their glasses together before taking sips. Immediately, Anukai’s entire mouth and throat was filled with the feeling of an intense, hot air from the drink, and she managed to swallow before coughing once or twice. To her annoyance, Aloy swallowed her sip without issue, drawing a smirk from the older redhead.  


“So,” Anukai wheezed, attempting to change the subject, “I noticed earlier—your toast—that there were a lot of little tribal things included, but…”  


The older redhead raised her eyebrows as the younger woman trailed off, her jaw working tensely.  


“But no Nora ones.”  


Aloy paused for a moment before sighing, lowering her glass onto the table before her and folding her hands before her knees.  


“I… I guess I didn’t feel that it was… important,” she said slowly before shrugging.  


Anukai stared back at her for several long moments before leaning forward, tentatively reaching toward her before pausing, once again, her jaw clenched until she finally closed the gap, her hand coming to wrest around the older redhead’s wrist, as she had done earlier.  


The older redhead jumped slightly at the touch before glancing up at her, an unreadably expression on her face. Anukai’s lips pulled back into a soft, but genuine, smile as her thumb slowly ran across the back of the older redhead’s wrist.  


“Thank you, kid,” she suddenly said.  


Confusion creased Anukai’s face as her thumb stopped its motion for a moment.  


“For what?”  


“For coming into my life,” Aloy said softly, the first hints of wateriness appearing at the corners of her eyes. “I… I—care—for you…”  


Anukai let out a short, dry laugh, hanging her head for a moment before looking back up at her.  


“You can say what you really mean, right now.”  


Aloy’s lower lip began to tremble for a moment as the first tear began to roll down her cheek, only for her lips to crack into the beginnings of a smile.  


“I love you, kid.”  


Anukai felt her own lips crack into a smile as Aloy’s hands moved to clasp hers in them, the grip warm and firm, but not painful or controlling, the wateriness now also spreading to the younger redhead’s eyes, as well.  


“Me, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wanna see some more of where this storyline goes? Check out imagine0314 and I's collaborative fic [Came New Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26534272/chapters/64677847) to find out.


End file.
